REALITY ART.(Company Business and Marketing)

Cel characters in a museum installation yearn for a better life in a 3D world

Fueled by viewers who have become jaded by the predictable story lines characteristic of most television fare these days, reality shows such as Survivor, Boot Camp, The Real World, The Mole, and Temptation Island have exploded onto the prime-time landscape and are enjoying enormous success. For those looking for a more cultured alternative to reality television, however, artists Janine Cirincione and Michael Ferraro have created a multimedia installation called "RL," which stands for "Real Life."

Starring a pair of disgruntled 2D animated characters who long for an idyllic 3D world that's just beyond their reach, "RL" brings the concept of "reality on public display" to the art world. "This is animations answer to reality programming" Cirincione says. "It is reality TV, in which the viewers are voyeurs, observing the real lives of real individuals. In this case, the individuals are cartoons."

Cirincione and Ferraro are the founders of a New York City-based studio called Possible Worlds, which they formed in 1994 to produce interactive entertainment. Using a proprietary 2D/3D real-time animation system built around. Sense8's WorldToolKit and running primarily on SGI workstations, the artists have created both live and broadcast performances of well-known characters such as Beavis and Butt-head, Daria, and Bugs Bunny. They have also provided animation and interactive design for clients in the broadcast and Internet arenas.

In addition to this work, the artists also are firmly entrenched in the art world, having exhibited at The Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, The New Museum in New York City, and The Power Plant in Toronto, among other galleries.

An Ideal Life

While their previous projects have incorporated interactivity, multimedia, and virtual worlds, "RL" is different in that it consists of 2D digital characters that react to cues from their surrounding environment.